Working late often results from small, easily overlooked time traps and poor organization, not only heavy workloads. Excessive chatting with colleagues can morph into long catchups and should be redirected to scheduled lunches or coffee. Unstructured breaks often become prolonged scrolling sessions; using a timer keeps breaks short and purposeful. Handling personal calls or errands during work undermines focus and productivity, especially after remote-work shifts blurred boundaries. Prioritizing tasks, protecting work-time boundaries, and scheduling personal interactions outside core hours can shorten the workday and improve work-life balance.
We've all been there: staying at work late. Complaining about not enough time in a day. Spending more hours staring at a glowing screen in a cubicle than you'd ever want to. And then we complain about how far outside the 9-to-5 our workday has stretched past. Maybe it's because we're a bit more unorganized than we'd like to admit.
Excessive chatting with colleagues. A quick chat by the watercooler with a coworker is nice (even good for your career and happiness), but be mindful of your time. "Quick conversations can easily turn into 30-minute catchups," says Kiki Ramsey, CEO and founder of Positive Psychology Coaching and Diversity Institute in Atlanta. "A better approach is to schedule a lunch or coffee break" instead, she suggests.
Be mindful of your breaks. "A quick break can turn into scrolling on your phone for way too long," cautions Ramsey. Use a timer to keep breaks short and purposeful. Refrain from handling personal issues on the clock. Post-pandemic, remote work has changed what the typical workday looks like for many. But "although the boundaries between work and personal have been skewed, personal calls or errands can chip away at focus and productivity," she said.
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